A woman that bragged about her belly dancing prowess on her blog, while also claiming to have been too injured in a car accident to work, was caught by her former husband and lost a $850 per month settlement she had counted on for life, as reported by the New York Daily News.
The woman, D.M., of Staten Island, had formerly won the monthly settlement from her ex-husband, B.M., in 2008 because she claimed that a 1997 accident prevented her from seeking and obtaining employment for the rest of her life.
B.M., after discovering D.M.’s blog, went back to court with the documentation.
In her blog D.M. posted photographs of herself belly dancing at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in Chelsea along with several written entries.
D.M. allegedly wrote such statements in her blog as: “My belly dancing is the reason why I adore myself so much.” “Today I decided to dedicate myself more to my dance.” “Even though I dance everyday, it's not enough. It won't be enough until I dance for you all, until you feel my euphoria.” “Today as I danced myself silly, I lifted my head and elongated my neck as I swirled around.” “And then it happened, I got really, really high.”
The lawyer for B.M., Thomas Kyle, said, “She told outright lies. If she could blog for hours, if she could dance the day away in Manhattan, then how is it she couldn't hold down a job.”
Richmond County Supreme Court Judge Catherine DiDomenico found the blog posts incriminating and declared that D.M. was fit enough to work.
As well as the blog entries, D.M. also admitted to keeping things from her ex-husband on the social network site Facebook. When one of her “pookies” asked D.M. why she hadn’t posted her belly dancing photos on the site she allegedly answered, “Gotta be careful what goes on line pookies, the ex would love to fry me with that.”
Once in court D.M. tried to defend her dancing exercise by stating that they were doctor-ordered.
Her physician failed to corroborate her story.
After removing the $850 per month settlement, the court also ordered that D.M. pay her ex-husband $5,000, interest on the sum and his attorney fees.
Additionally, the judge ordered D.M. from the home the two owned and awarded 60% of its value to B.M.
The judge wrote of her decision that she gave the higher percentage of the home’s worth to B.M. because D.M. “worked only two years of this 11-year marriage.”
The judge also stated in reversing the settlement that, “The court credits husband's testimony that wife slept all day or otherwise spent her day on the computer participating in Internet blogs.”
D.M. is allegedly trained as a Reikki Spiritual Healer and claims that she can “channel God’s light to facilitate healing.” D.M. is a U.S. Post Office mail carrier.
Kyle said of the court’s decision in favor of his client, “He's just happy that this is all over and he can move on.”
If you require a revision to your divorce settlement contact a family law attorney from our directory for assistance. In simply providing your documentation, and asking the court for fairness, you don’t have to feel cheated any longer.